Mindbullets: News from the Future are fictitious news stories with a future dateline, designed to explore possible future realities, and to challenge and stimulate strategic thinking. The goal of Mindbullets is not to make concrete predictions, but rather to ask those ‘What if?’ questions.

Over the past 20 years, Futureworld has published over a thousand Mindbullet scenarios, many of which have future datelines that are now in the past. Some of these Mindbullets have proven to be surprisingly accurate, while others have been overtaken by events or have yet to unfold. By examining these Mindbullets, both the accurate and the inaccurate ones, we can gain insights into potential future trends and disruptive events.

Here are a few ways in which Mindbullets help us to understand the future:

·         Exploring Potential Realities: Mindbullets encourage you to think outside the box and consider possibilities that might not be immediately apparent.

·         Identifying Weak Signals: Mindbullets often pick up on weak signals, or emerging trends that might otherwise be overlooked.

·         Challenging Assumptions: Mindbullets often challenge common assumptions about the future.

By exploring potential realities, identifying weak signals, and challenging assumptions, Mindbullets provide a valuable tool for understanding future trends and disruptive events. While they are not predictions, they can help leaders and organizations to think more critically about the future and to be better prepared for the challenges – and opportunities – that lie ahead.

Futureworld has compiled Focusing on the Future, a selection of Mindbullets from our archives that have proved to be eerily correct in their view of the future, even though they were published many years ago. For a deep dive into how well Mindbullets have imagined the future, download the full report, or listen to the in-depth discussion below.